Bannow () is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

lying east of Bannow Bay on the south-west coast of

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí C ...

, Ireland. In modern times the main settlement is the village of Carrig-on-Bannow (or ''Carrig''). In

Norman times The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the C ...

there was a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

called Bannow on Bannow Island at the mouth of the Bay. This town has since disappeared, probably due to the silting up of the natural harbour channels in the 14th century, and the former island is now attached to the rest of the parish.

History

It is believed that the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

had a strong early presence in the area, due to the survival of numerous Norse place-names in the locality. The

Norman conquest of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

began in Bannow Bay in 1169, when three ships commanded by

Robert Fitz-Stephen Robert FitzStephen (died 1183) was a Cambro-Norman soldier, one of the leaders of the Norman invasion of Ireland, for which he was granted extensive lands in Ireland. He was a son of the famous Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of ...

arrived at the behest of Diarmait MacMurrough to support his claim to the

Kingdom of Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ire ...

. Another group of Normans under

Raymond le Gros Raymond (or Redmond) Fitz William Fitz Gerald (died 1185–1198), nicknamed ''Le Gros'' ("the Large"), was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Raymond was among the first of a small band of Norman knights who la ...

landed the following year on the far side of Bannow Bay, on the

Hook Peninsula The Hook Peninsula is a peninsula in County Wexford, Ireland. It has been a gateway to south-east Ireland for successive waves of newcomers, including the Vikings, Anglo-Normans and the English. The coastline has a number of beaches. The peninsu ...

at Baginbun, which was then called ga, Dún Domhnaill. There was a small promontory fort there, easy for the Normans to defend and thereby ensure a safe landing. At Bannow Island, the ruins can still be seen of the 13th-century Norman Romanesque parish church of St Mary, originally impropriated to the monks of Canterbury. It consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

. Another famous Norman soldier and officer who landed in the first invasion was

Meiler Fitzhenry Meiler FitzHenry (sometimes spelled Meilyr; died 1220) was a Cambro-Norman nobleman and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland during the Lordship of Ireland. Background and early life Meilyr FitzHenry was the son of Henry FitzHenry, an illegitimate son ...

, whose son adopted his father's name, and thus began the Meyler family of County Wexford, who later were prominent in the

Wexford Rebellion The Wexford Rebellion refers to the outbreak in County Wexford, Ireland in May 1798 of the Society of United Irishmen's rebellion against the British rule. It was the most successful and most destructive of all the uprisings that occurred throu ...

of 1798. Bannow Borough was a

borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

returning two members to the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...

until the

Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...

disenfranchised it. It was a

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

with the same proprietor and electors as Clonmines Borough, another

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

for the deserted town of Clonmines at the northern limit of Bannow Bay. The most prominent local landlords in Bannow from the late 17th century were the Boyse family, who lived at Bannow House. The last member of the Boyse family left the area in 1948. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

, the fleeing loyalist garrison of the town of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

crossed the nearby Scar at Barrystown on their way to

Duncannon Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village. Pr ...

Fort. In the late 19th century, the area was heavily involved in the

Land War The Land War ( ga, Cogadh na Talún) was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the first and most intense period of agitation between 1879 and 18 ...

Geography

Bannow is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish in the Diocese of Ferns. The parish church in Carrig-on-Bannow was first built in 1856 and has been altered several times since. It has an adjoining cemetery. Carrig also has a national school, Garda Station, handball alley,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

, a café, four estates, a doctor's office, a farm, a corner shop, two bars, and

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. A kilometre away is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church at Balloughton, and at nearby Grantstown is an Augustinian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

. There are beaches on Bannow Island, at Cockle Strand, Blackhall, and

Cullenstown Cullenstown () is a townland and small village located on the south coast of County Wexford, in Ireland. A small beach, Cullenstown Strand, is located nearby. Cullenstown is home to the "shell cottage" (also known as "cliff cottage"), a 19th ce ...

Transport

Wexford Local Link route 388 serves Carrig-on-Bannow several times daily linking it to

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

route 381 serves Carrig-on-Bannow and Blackhall on Tuesdays providing a link to and from

. Several buses a day serve

Wellingtonbridge Wellingtonbridge (), also spelled Wellington Bridge, is a village in south County Wexford, Ireland. It lies some 24 km west of Wexford and 28 km east of Waterford, at the intersection of the R733 and R736 regional roads. It was his ...

around 5 kilometres distant. Until September 2010

was also served by rail.

Sport

The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club is Bannow-Ballymitty GAA Club, which has pitches located at Grantstown. The club has two pitches, a stand and an indoor complex with an upstairs viewing area. The adult men's GAA teams currently play junior hurling and intermediate football. Camogie and Ladies football clubs also reside and use the facilities there. Bannow-Ballymitty Camogie Club was founded in 1950 and was originally called St. Mary's. It ceased in the mid-1960s and reformed in 1992 as Bannow-Ballymitty. Nearby is Corach Ramblers soccer club. Handball is also played at Ballymitty Handball Club.

Music

Formed locally, the Danescastle Music Group (Bannow

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...

) had over 150 pupils as of 2010. It is a County Wexford branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Comhaltas). Other members of Comhaltas in the parish include the Gleeson family, the Murphy Bros, Sean Stafford, Nick Bennett and many more traditional musicians and singers. Colfers pub is a venue for traditional sessions, and the "Phil Murphy Weekend" is held every year in Carrig on Bannow.

People

Anna Maria Hall Anna Maria Hall (6 January 1800 – 30 January 1881) was an Irish novelist who often published as "Mrs. S. C. Hall". She married Samuel Carter Hall, a writer on art, who described her in ''Retrospect of a Long Life, from 1815 to 1883''. She was ...

(Mrs. S.C. Hall) – author. *

Ben Brosnan Ben Brosnan is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Wexford county team and he transferred to Castletown Liam Mellows from his native side Bannow Ballymitty. Playing career Brosnan was part of the Wexford panel in 2008. Wexford won Divis ...

– Gaelic footballer.

References

{{County Wexford Towns and villages in County Wexford Civil parishes of County Wexford Geography of Ireland Viking Age in Ireland Former islands of Ireland